The Pirates’ former coach, fired after last season then later arrested for allegedly shoplifting, told ESPN.com the team he left should have been much better than what it was.

“If I was back this year we would have won over 20 games and we would’ve went back to the NCAA [tournament],” Gonzalez said Tuesday afternoon. “To have a record like that with the talent that I left them is unacceptable.”

The record was 13-18, 7-11 in the Big East under first-year coach Kevin Willard. Seton Hall lost to Rutgers, 76-70 in overtime, Tuesday in the first round of the conference tournament.

Gonzalez reportedly said he would like to get back into coaching as an NBA scout or assistant coach. The report says, “Gonzalez, a New York native, has attended numerous New York Knicks practices at the team’s facility in Greenburgh, N.Y., this season and on occasion has met with Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni.”

Gonzalez said he “was too focused on winning games,” and that led to his downfall with the Pirates. Arrests and ejections of multiple players did not help.

Seton Hall was 66-59 under Gonzalez, 29-45 in the Big East, and never made the NCAA tournament, the report says. Gonzalez also coached at Manhattan, which he led to the NCAA tournament twice.